Method for authenticating electronic documents on a computer network

ABSTRACT

A method for verifying the source of an electronic document located on a computer network, wherein said electronic document is viewed through a Document Viewer, which includes incorporating a document identifier into the electronic document. The document identifier contains identifying information related to the electronic document. A verification signal containing the identifying information and location information related to the location of the electronic document on the computer network is generated with the Document Viewer and is transmitted to a verification computer. The verification computer accesses a data source to retrieve an identification record and a location record for the electronic document. These records are compared with the verification signal, and a reply signal is generated, which is transmitted back to the Document Viewer. If the information in the verification signal does not match the information contained in the information and location records, then an error message may also be generated, which is sent to a designated recipient as notification of the error.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method for authenticating electronicdocuments on a computer network, and particularly to a method forincorporating a document identifier into an electronic document andcomparing this document identifier to records stored in a data source toauthenticate the author of an electronic document, and more particularlyto a method of authenticating World Wide Web documents located on theInternet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The growing proliferation of content providers on large corporate,government, or public computer networks, such as the Internet, has leadto an increase in the amount of false or misleading information presenton these networks. This, in turn, has created a need for a workablesystem for authenticating the electronic documents on these networks,and for preventing authors from improperly presenting that their contenthas been reviewed and/or verified by the appropriate authority. Thisproblem is explained below in more detail in regard to the Internet.

The Internet is a vast "network of networks" connecting a large numberof computer networks and sub-networks to each other through severalregional backbone systems. The Internet is a "decentralized" network,which means that each computer on the network can communicate with eachother computer on the network and can do so without communicating with acentral computer. The Internet is a "packet-switched" network, whichmeans that information is transmitted among each of the computers using"packets" of data which are routed from one system to the next. Oneportion of the Internet, the World Wide Web ("Web"), is growing at arapid pace, as more and more businesses go online.

The Web is the most popular segment of the Internet today because itallows users to interact with each other and access content through agraphical user interface, or "GUI." The most commonly used GUI's are Webbrowsers, which are software applications that allow users to access andview electronic documents in a browser window. Web documents are createdusing Hypertext Markup Language ("HTML"), which allows authors to addedspecial format tags to plain text documents to control the appearance ofthe text in the Web browser. HTML tags also allow for the insertion ofadditional components into the Web document, such as image files, audiofiles, and "applets." Applets are small pieces of programming code thatare run on the user's computer when downloaded. Applets allow for sucheffects as scrolling text and animation.

Hypertext links may also be added to a Web document to allow users toaccess another document, file, or application directly from the browserwindow. When a hypertext link is activated, the Web browser sends arequest to the location where the linked document is stored, which isreceived by the Web server operating at that location. This isaccomplished by using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol ("HTTP") which isspecial instruction protocol used for transferring information over theWeb. The location of the document is specified by the document'suniversal resource locator ("URL"). For example,"http://www.ipwarehouse.com/Cyber₋₋ Registry.html".

The total number of Web documents and Web sites (locations on theInternet where businesses, organizations, or individuals store their Webdocuments for viewing over the Internet) is increasing exponentially.This fact, coupled with the relative ease with which these documents canbe created and made available, and the relative anonymity available totheir authors has led to the increasing problem that a growing portionof Web pages may contain false or misleading information, which can be adanger to the public and harmful to other businesses and organizations.

For example, a Web site or document providing false or misleadingmedical information as to the effects or proper use of medication couldbe potentially devastating if relied upon. A Web site which containsmisleading legal information could also be harmful to the public. It ispossible to cite similar examples from every segment of society.

Accordingly, a system is needed whereby users could authenticate theauthor of a Web document and determine whether the content of the Webdocument has been reviewed and/or verified by the appropriate authority.Such a system must be easily accessible by and readily apparent tousers, and must be supported by the laws and regulations applicable tothe nature of the content in that Web document.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a systemfor authenticating electronic documents on a computer network, such asthe Internet.

It is another object of the invention to detect unauthorized electronicdocuments which are improperly presented as being properly reviewedand/or verified by the appropriate authority.

It is a further object of the invention to detect unauthorizedelectronic documents which are improperly presented as being properlyreviewed and/or verified by the appropriate authority and toautomatically notify this authority of the details of this unauthorizeduse.

Another object of the invention is to prevent authors of electronicdocuments from improperly presenting their electronic documents ashaving been properly reviewed and/or verified by the appropriateauthority.

Further objects of the present invention will become apparent to thoseof ordinary skill in the art based on the disclosure of the inventionherein and in the appended claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention includes a method for verifying the source of anelectronic document located on a computer network. A document identifieris incorporated into the electronic document, which contains identifyinginformation related to the electronic document and/or the documentidentifier. An information request signal is generated and istransmitted to an information storage system which contains informationabout the electronic document and/or the document identifier, such aslocation information designating the location of the electronic documenton the computer network.

A reply signal is then generated and returned based upon a comparison ofthe information request signal with the information about the electronicdocument.

In another embodiment of the invention, a verification signal containingthe identifying information and location information related to thelocation of the electronic document on the computer network is generatedwhen the document identifier is activated, and is transmitted to averification computer or server. The verification server accesses a datasource to retrieve an identification record and a location record forthe electronic document. These records are compared with theverification signal, and a reply signal is generated, which istransmitted back to the document viewer. If the information in theverification signal does not match the information contained in theinformation and location records, then an error message may also begenerated, which is sent to a designated recipient as notification ofthe error.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of components used in a preferredembodiment of the present invention operated over the Internet.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) are screen shots demonstrating an electronicdocument incorporating an embodiment of the document identifier of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) are screen shots demonstrating Web page responses ina preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention will be understood more fully from the detaileddescription given below and from the accompanying drawings of preferredembodiments of the invention which, however, should not be taken tolimit the invention to a specific embodiment but are for explanation andunderstanding only.

FIG. 1 is a schematic demonstrating the typical components used in apreferred embodiment of the invention when used over the Internet. Anelectronic document, such as a Web page created using HTML, is loadedinto Document Viewer 1. Document Viewer 1 may be any softwareapplication capable of viewing electronic documents and loadingadditional electronic documents from within the original document, suchas through the use of a hypertext link (although not limited thereto).For example, the Document Viewer could include a Web browser, such asNavigator from Netscape Communications or Microsoft's Internet Explorer,or could be a word processing application with hypertext capabilities,such as Corel's WordPerfect 8.0 or Microsoft Word '97.

The electronic document may be loaded automatically when Document Viewer1 is first started, or may be opened into the viewer by the user from afile stored locally or at a remote URL. For example, the user may loadthe document by typing the document's URL into the Web browser's commandline. This will be explained in more detail in regard to FIGS. 2 and 3.

Document Viewer 1 may be accessed by the user through any of a number ofcomputer systems, such as through the use of a terminal connected to amain-frame system, from a personal computer, or over computer connectedto a local computer network.

Document Viewer 1 is connected to the Internet along with other DocumentViewers and computers, such as Personal Computer 2, through Local AccessProvider 3. This connection is typically made through local telephonelines using an analog or ISDN modem, though it can be over a directnetwork connection, such as an EtherNet network. Local Access Provider 3maintains a computer network which routes any requests from DocumentViewer 1 to the appropriate location on the Internet. This isaccomplished in a conventional manner, such as through the use of amodem pool connected to a local server and Internet gateway (not shown).Local Access Provider 3 connects Document Viewer 3 to Web Server 4through any of a number of well-known connection schemes, such asthrough the use of leased lines.

Web Server 4 is typically a software application running on a remotecomputer which is capable of forwarding or processing HTTP requests fromDocument Viewer 1. For example, Web Server 4 may include any one of anumber of well-known server applications, such as the NSCA Web server,the Apache Web server, etc. Web Server 4 passes a document request fromDocument Viewer 1 to Document Server 5, which is the Web server at thelocation specified in the requested document's URL.

The transfer of electronic documents between Document Server 5 andDocument Viewer 1, and the authentication of documents usingVerification Server 6 will be discussed in more detail in regard to themethod of the present invention described in connection with FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating one preferred embodiment of thepresent invention. In this embodiment, Document Viewer 1 first loads aWeb document to be authenticated. This is typically accomplished in twostages. The HTML text of the document is loaded by Document Viewer 1,the Client, into the viewing window (7) from Document Server 5. Toaccomplish this, Document Viewer 1 sends an HTTP request to DocumentServer 5. This request is transmitted from Document Viewer 1 across theInternet though Local Access Provider 3 and Web Server 4 to DocumentServer 5. This request is transmitted using the Transmission ControlProtocol/Internet Protocol, or "TCP/IP."

Information is transmitted over the Internet using TCP/IP. With thisprotocol, each location on the Internet, typically a specific computeror Web server, has its own unique IP (Internet Protocol) address, suchas "204.108.253.101". This address identifies where that computer orserver is located on the network. Because of the difficulty inremembering a large number of such addresses, a system known as theDomain Name Service ("DNS") was developed to associate an IP addresswith a particular host in a given "domain." For example, the host"www.ipwarehouse.com" is the host name for a Web server located at theIP address "204.108.253.101". This server is part of the domain"ipwarehouse.com".

Documents located in this domain are "mapped" by the Web server to aparticular location in that system. This may or may not be on the samecomputer as the Web server itself. This document mapping provides a pathin that domain to the desired document. For example, if the document"Cyber₋₋ Registry.html" is located in the base, or "root" directory ofthe domain under the host "www.ipwarehouse.com", its location would be"www.ipwarehouse.com/Cyber₋₋ Registry.html". If "Cyber₋₋ Registry.html"is a Web document, it will be accessed with the HTTP protocol. Its URLwould then be "http://www.ipwarehouse.com/Cyber₋₋ Registry.html".

In order to access this document, a user would activate this document'sURL. This can be accomplished, for example, by activating a hypertextlink having this URL as a target, or by entering the URL in the CommandLine of a Web browser. When the URL is activated, the Web browser issuesthe HTTP request to the appropriate Web server to serve up the desireddocument.

A hypertext link is created by entering a special HTML tag set into thetext of the Web document. For example the following text would create alink to a Web document named "Cyber₋₋ Registry.html":

<A HREF="http://www.ipwarehouse.com/Cyber₋₋ Registry.html">Click here toretrieve Cyber₋₋ Registry.html.</A>

In the above example, the language "Click here to retrieve Cyber₋₋Registry.html" would appear in the Web browser, and would be designatedas a hypertext link, such as by underlining or a special color. The HTMLtag set is the text enclosed in the "< >" tags. "A" signifies that theenclosed text is a hypertext "anchor", "HREF" signifies that the textafter the "=" is the hypertext reference for the URL of the desireddocument, and the "/A" in the closing tag designates that it is end ofthe hypertext link.

A Web document may contain text only, text only with HTML formattingtags and/or links, or may include other documents, such as image files,audio files, and applets. For example, the Web document illustrated inFIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) is contains formatted text, several image files, anda hypertext link. The hypertext link is designated by the icon in thelower left corner containing the phrase "Cyber Registry Web PageCertification System". By clicking on this image, the user will activatethe target document for that hypertext link.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the electronic document tobe authenticated will include a document identifier which may includeidentifying information about the electronic document and/or thedocument identifier. For example, the document identifier may comprisean image file and hypertext link. This image file may be located onDocument Server 5, Verification Server 6, or another designated Webserver. When client Document Viewer 1 loads the HTML text file for theelectronic document to be authenticated, this image file is also loadedin Document Viewer 1.

By way of example, if the document to be authenticated is"http://www.ipwarehouse.com/Cyber₋₋ Registry.html", then that documentcould incorporate the image file and hypertext link by including theappropriate text in the HTML code for the document itself. In the Webdocument shown in FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b), the HTML text file contains thecode shown in Appendix 1, attached hereto and incorporated by referenceherein.

As can be seen from Appendix 1, the HTML code includes the followingtext:

<P> <!-- The following link and logo are licensed products of the IPWarehouse, Inc., and are part of the Cyber Registry™ Web pagecertification system. All rights reserved. -->

<a href="http://www.ipwarehouse.com/cgi-shl/Cyber₋₋ Registry.pl?&id=CR1"> <IMG SRC="http://www.ipwarehouse.com/CR₋₋ cert.jpg" width=135height=65> </a> </P>

The HTML tag <IMG SRC="http://www.ipwarehouse.com/CR₋₋ cert.jpg">directs Document Viewer 1 to load the image file "CR₋₋ cert.jpg" fromthe Web server at "www.ipwarehouse.com" (reference numeral 8 in FIG. 2).In a preferred embodiment of the invention this image file is a digitalrepresentation of a special "certification mark" belonging to theauthority responsible for reviewing and/or verifying content of the typedisclosed in the Web document. A certification mark is a special type oftrademark used by an organization to certify to the public that thegoods that it is affixed to has met certain standards established bythat organization.

The Web document shown in FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) is an example of a legaladvertisement for an attorney. Under the laws of a number of states,such an advertisement must be reviewed by that state's bar associationbefore it is made publicly available. In addition, some states requirethat attorney's provide certain information about themselves to thestate bar in connection with the advertisement they wish to run, such asthe name of the firm, a contact person, and their address and telephonenumber.

In this situation, the image file appearing in the lower left cornerwould be the certification mark used by the state bar association forsuch purposes, such as the official seal of that organization. Usersviewing that advertisement would then know that it has been properlyreviewed and the information contained therein is accurate andauthentic.

After the Web document is loaded into Document Viewer 1, Document Viewer1 waits until the hypertext link is activated, or until the useraccesses another URL (9). When a user activates the document identifierby clicking on the hypertext link embodied in the certification markimage file, Document Viewer 1 generates a signal to Verification Server6 (10). This is preferably in the form of an HTTP request sent over theInternet using TCP/IP. The request is routed through Local AccessProvider 3 and Web Server 4 to Verification Server 6.

The HTTP request may include both identifying information about theelectronic document and/or the document identifier, and locationinformation about where the document actually located on the Internet,i.e., the location of the document on Document Server 5. In the exampleshown in FIG. 3(a) and 3(b), this location information would be includedin the HTTP request. That is, the URL for document containing thehypertext link used to generate the request would be included in theHTTP request itself. The HTTP request may also include specialidentification information appended to the hypertext reference containedin the link. For example, in the HTML code shown in Appendix 1, thisidentification information for be "?&id=CR1", which is appended to theURL for the requested document,"http://www.ipwarehouse.com/cgi-shl/Cyber₋₋ Registry.pl". Thisinformation, known as a "key pair" would be encoded in the URLinformation sent in the HTTP request.

It will be appreciated that the details of HTTP operation in conjunctionwith TCP/IP are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art andwill, therefore, not be elaborated on here.

When the HTTP request is received by Verification Server 6, VerificationServer 6 accesses a data source to retrieve a location record based uponthe document identifier contained in the verification signal fromDocument Viewer 1. Of course, it is also possible to have multiplelocation records for each document identifier, allowing for use of thedocument identifier with more than one electronic document and at morethan one location.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention demonstrated in FIG. 2,Verification Server 6 would receive the HTTP request from DocumentViewer 1, parsing the Request to determine the desired document. In thisembodiment, the requested document is a common gateway interface, or CGIprogram, designated as "Cyber₋₋ Registry.pl" in this example. Thisprogram acts as an interface between the server and the data source byexecuting a set of instructions based upon the information received bythe server in the HTTP request and passed by the server to the CGIprogram. Verification Server 6 executes the CGI program and waits forthe CGI program to return a response (12).

The CGI program can take a number of forms which are well known in theart, such as PERL scripting, C++ modules, or other common programminglanguages. The interaction of Web servers and CGI programs and thesending of information therebetween is well known to those of ordinaryskill in the art.

The CGI program may extract the document location information, e.g. theURL, from the information passed to it by the server and retrieve thelocation record or records from the data source (13-14). This may beaccomplished in a number of ways known to those of ordinary skill in theart. For example, if the CGI program is a PERL script, a database accessmodule, such as AnyDBM₋₋ File, can be used in connection with any numberof database packages, such as NDBM₋₋ File, DB₋₋ File, GDBM₋₋ File,SDBM₋₋ File, or ODBM₋₋ File, to interface with the majority ofcommercial relational database applications. Examples of such databasesinclude Oracle, Sybase, Microsoft Access, etc.

Records are retrieved by passing SQL statements to the database andloading the results into the CGI program. The CGI program may thencompares the location records retrieved from the database with thelocation information received from the server (16). This can beaccomplished, for example, by a simple text string comparison of the URLin the HTTP request with a URL stored in the location record. Of course,this comparison is not limited thereto and can be accomplished by othermeans well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, such as achecksum comparison of information contained in the document itself andreference information stored in the database.

If the location information matches one of the acceptable locations,then the CGI program retrieves an identification record for thatlocation from the database (17-18). The CGI program then formats a anappropriate response, which is then sent back to the server (19). In theexample shown in FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b), this response might include, forexample, the required information provided to the state bar associationwhen the advertisement was presented for review. The server then servesthis response to Document Viewer 1 using TCP/IP (20). The response isloaded into the viewing window by Document Viewer 1 to be read by theuser (21). An example of such a response is shown in FIG. 4(a).

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, if the location informationdoes not match the location records retrieved from the database, thenthe CGI program may extract the information provided by the server fromthe HTTP request, including but not limited to the document location,the document server, the IP address of the user requesting the document,the document identifier, and the time and date of the request. It willbe appreciated that manner of the inclusion of this information in theHTTP request is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, suchas through the use of environment variables encoded in the URL sent aspart of the HTTP request.

This error information may then be formatted as an error message (23),which is sent to a designated recipient (24). For example, the errorinformation can be formatted as an email message which is then sent to adesignated email address. This particular embodiment can be accomplishedby a number of means well known to those of ordinary skill in the art.If the CGI program is a PERL script, for example, then this can be doneusing native function calls if the program is being run on a UNIXoperating system, or by calling an executable file from the command linesuch as Postmail from Software.com. The CGI program may also format anerror message to return to Document Viewer 1 in the form of a Webdocument. An example of such a response is shown in FIG. 4(b). In otherembodiments of the invention, the error information may also be storedin the database itself, or written to a text file for later view. Theerror information may be written to the database in manner similar tothat used for retrieving the identification and location records. Forexample, if the CGI program is a PERL script, an SQL statement can beused in connection with the database modules discussed above.Notification that an error has occurred may also be sent by email to adesignated email address. As an alternative to email, a response may besent via facsimile or through an automated voice mail system.Incorporating such communication means into a CGI program is well knownto those of ordinary skill in the art and can be accomplished with anumber of currently available software applications.

Alternatively, the CGI program may extract the identifying informationfrom the HTTP request sent by the server and use this information toextract the corresponding information from the data source withoutcomparing the information or location records This information may thenbe formatted by the CGI program into an appropriate electronic documentand returned to this browser In a further embodiment of the invention, ablocking mechanism may be utilized to prevent unauthorized replicationof the document identifier. This provides the significant benefit inthat it greatly reduces the possibility that unauthorized users will beable to falsify an association with the authority involved, and greatlyincreases the chances that such a misuse will be detected.

There are a number of blocking mechanisms which may be incorporated forsuch use. One possible embodiment entails the use of an applet which isdownloaded when the electronic document is loaded into DocumentViewer 1. This applet detects when a user is attempting to save an imagefile contained in a Web document onto their computer and prevents theWeb browser from allowing the save to occur. This can be accomplished,for example, though the use of a Java script or ActiveX control.

A Java applet may be incorporated in the text of the Web documentitself, or may be called by a reference to a URL in a manner similar theinclusion of image files in Web documents. Instead of loading the imagefile directly, Document Viewer 1 loads the Java applet set forth in theWeb document. The applet then contacts the location where the image fileis stored (preferably Verification Server 6) and loads the image fileinto the viewer window. However, the image file is assigned to theapplet and is not directly accessible by Document Viewer 1. Thus, theimage saving features of Document Viewer 1 cannot be used to save thedocument.

It will be appreciated that there a number of ways, well known to thoseof ordinary skill in the art, that such an applet can be created. Forexample, the Java programming language can be used to control access tothe image file by the server through the server's native applicationprogram interface ("API").

Other embodiments of the invention may include encoding documentinformation into the image file itself. For example, cryptography andsteganographic systems may be employed to place a special digitalwatermark into an image file containing the identification informationfor the document identifier. Such systems are described in U.S. Pat.Nos. 5,687,236 and 5,633,929, the content of which is incorporated byreference herein.

These systems can be used to encode data directly into the image file.If the image file is improperly taken and used by an author in anelectronic document on Document Server 5, this can be detected byVerification Server 6 through a comparison of the information encoded inthe image file with that stored in the data source. When the hypertextlink is activated and the verification signal is sent to VerificationServer 6, Verification Server 6 may retrieve the image file fromDocument Server 5 by issuing an HTTP request to that server. When theimage file is received, Verification Server 6 decrypts the encodedinformation and compares it with the information stored in the datasource. This may be accomplished through the use of a CGI program, asdiscussed above.

Although this invention has been described with reference to particularembodiments, it will be appreciated that many variations may be resortedto without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. Forexample, the invention may be utilized on any computer network, such ascorporate Intranets and other internetworked systems, and is not limitedto the Internet or the World Wide Web. It will also be appreciated thatmany combinations of Web servers and CGI applications may used foraccessing the data source, and the data source may be other than arelational database, such as an ACSII text file, or some other type ofbinary file. Also, if HTML code is used to contain the documentidentifying information, this information may take a variety of formsother than the URL encoded key pairs described herein, such as hiddenvariable in the HTML code.

We claim:
 1. A method of authenticating the source of an electronic document located on a computer network comprising the steps of:(a) incorporating a document identifier into said electronic document, said document identifier having identifying information related to said electronic document; (b) generating a verification signal from a verification source, said verification signal containing said identifying information and location information related to the location of said electronic document on said computer network; (c) transmitting said verification signal to a verification system; (d) accessing a data source with said verification system, said data source containing information about said electronic document; (e) comparing said verification signal with said information about said electronic document; wherein if said location information in said verification signal is not contained in said information about said electronic document in said data source, generating an error signal which is transmitted elsewhere on said computer network; and wherein if said location information in said verification signal is contained in said information about said electronic document in said data source, generating a reply signal based upon said identification information about said electronic document in said data source, which is transmitted to said verification source.
 2. The authentication method of claim 1, wherein said document identifier is stored in said verifying system and is incorporated into said electronic document when said electronic document is loaded into said document viewer.
 3. The authentication method of claim 1, wherein said verification system comprises a Web server operating on a computer.
 4. The authentication method of claim 1, wherein said document identifier contains a blocking mechanism, said blocking mechanism preventing said document viewer from replicating said document identifier.
 5. The authentication method of claim 1, wherein said document identifier is a digital image file and associated computer code.
 6. The authentication method of claim 5, wherein said identifying information related to said electronic document is encoded into said image file.
 7. The authentication method of claim 1, further comprising the step of transmitting said error signal to a second designated location on said computer network.
 8. The authentication method of claim 1, further comprising the step of saving said error signal as a record in said data source.
 9. The authentication method of claim 1 wherein said document identifier includes a Universal Resource Locator.
 10. The authentication method of claim 1 wherein said document is a Web page.
 11. The authentication method of claim 1, wherein said computer network is connected to the Internet.
 12. The authentication method of claim 1, wherein said document is a Web page.
 13. A method of authenticating the source of an electronic document located on a computer network capable of being viewed through a document viewer, said method comprising the steps of:(a) incorporating a document identifier into said electronic document from a verifying computer when said electronic document is loaded into said document viewer, said document identifier having identifying information related to said electronic document; (b) generating a verification signal with said document viewer, said verification signal containing said identifying information and location information related to the location of said electronic document on said computer network; (c) transmitting said verification signal to a verification server; (d) accessing a data source with said verification server, said data source containing information about said electronic document; (e) comparing said verification signal with said information about said electronic document; wherein if said location information in said verification signal is not contained in said information about said electronic document in said data source, generating an error signal which is transmitted elsewhere on said computer network; and wherein if said location information in said verification signal is contained in said information about said electronic document in said data source, generating a reply signal based upon said identification information about said electronic document in said data source, which is transmitted to said document viewer.
 14. The authentication method of claim 13, wherein said document identifier contains a blocking mechanism, said blocking mechanism preventing said document viewer from replicating said document identifier.
 15. The authentication method of claim 13, wherein said document identifier is a digital image file and associated computer code.
 16. The authentication method of claim 15, wherein said identifying information related to said electronic document is encoded into said image file.
 17. The authentication method of claim 13, further comprising the step of transmitting said error signal to a second designated location on said computer network.
 18. The authentication method of claim 13, further comprising the step of saving said error signal as a record in said data source.
 19. The authentication method of claim 13, wherein said data source is a relational database.
 20. The authentication method of claim 13, wherein said data source is a relational database.
 21. The authentication method of claim 13, wherein said computer network is connected to the Internet.
 22. The authentication method of claim 13 wherein said document is a Web page.
 23. In a method for authenticating the source of an electronic document located on a computer network and being viewed through a document viewer, said method comprising the steps of:(a) incorporating a document identifier into said electronic document when said electronic document is loaded into said document viewer, said document identifier having identifying information related to said electronic document; (b) generating a verification signal with said document viewer, said verification signal containing said identifying information and location information related to the location of said electronic document on said computer network; (c) transmitting said verification signal to a verification server; (d) accessing a data source with said verification server, said data source containing at least one identification record for said electronic document and at least one location record for said electronic document on said computer network; (e) retrieving said location record from said data source; (f) comparing said verification signal with said location record; (g) determining if said location record is the same as said location information contained in said verification signal; (h) if said location information in said verification signal is not the same as said location record, generating an error signal, creating an error message, and transmitting said error message to said document viewer and to a second designated location on said computer network; and (i) if said location information in said verification signal is the same as said location record, retrieving said information record from said data source, generating a reply signal based upon identification record and said location record, and transmitting said reply signal to said document.
 24. The authentication method of claim 23, wherein said document identifier contains a blocking mechanism, said blocking mechanism preventing said document viewer from replicating said document identifier.
 25. The authentication method of claim 23, wherein said identifying information related to said electronic document is encoded into said image file.
 26. The authentication method of claim 23, further comprising the step of saving said error signal as a record in said data source.
 27. The authentication method of claim 23, wherein said information storage system is a relational database.
 28. The authentication method of claim 23, wherein said data source is a relational database.
 29. The authentication method of claim 23, wherein said computer network is connected to the Internet.
 30. The authentication method of claim 23 wherein said document is a Web page.
 31. A method of authenticating the source of an electronic document located on a computer network comprising the steps of:(a) incorporating a document identifier containing location information into said electronic document; (b) generating an information request signal based upon said document identifier; (c) transmitting said information request signal to an information storage system containing information about said electronic document; (d) comparing said information request signal with said information about said electronic document contained in said information storage system; wherein if said location information is not contained in said information about said electronic document in said information storage system, generating an error signal which is transmitted elsewhere on said computer network; and wherein if said location information is contained in said information about said electronic document in said information storage system, generating a reply signal based upon said information about said electronic document in said information storage system, which is transmitted to said verification source.
 32. The authentication method of claim 31, wherein said document identifier is a digital image file and associated computer code.
 33. The authentication method of claim 32, wherein said information about said electronic document is encoded into said image file.
 34. The authentication method of claim 31, wherein said computer network is connected to the Internet.
 35. The authentication method of claim 31, wherein said information storage system is a relational database.
 36. The authentication method of claim 31, wherein said computer network is connected to the Internet.
 37. The authentication method of claim 31, wherein said document is a Web page. 